Return of the Three
by AlexanderLutece
Summary: AU- Markus and Bianca have to wait for the signal while Zoe, Artemis, Grover and Annabeth combat the Titan on the mountain. What they'll find tonight will cause the earth to shake, the winds to roar, and the dead to wake, and it's not even the gods' fault this time...technically.


All was quiet in the harbor. In the most dangerous area for a demigod, this meant that something bad was about to happen.

Markus stealthily hid within the shadows, waiting for the all-clear signal from the Hunters. Before, he had wanted nothing to do with them, but now? Well, now he was just glad they were on _his_ side. Just behind him, the newest Hunter was eerily quiet; she was relatively new to the whole demigod thing, but she'd caught on quickly, especially after they were almost crushed by a giant.

Internally, Markus cringed. Every time he thought back to that, he remembered what _they_ looked like. A trio of old husks, muttering a single phrase...

_The prophecy has folded upon itself..._

There was a short whistling noise, almost as if by a bird, but Markus knew what it was. Letting the Hunter take the lead, he followed as quickly as possible. After a few turns and dark alleyways, they arrived at a fountain, where Pheobe was waiting.

"Come on, we don't have much time," she said urgently, grabbing onto their hands and pulling them along.

"Is Zoe in trouble?" asked the Hunter. Pheobe shook her head. "Then it's Grover?"

"Surprisingly, no. While they are most likely battling with the Titan, they are not hurt yet." Turning a corner, we saw three kids laying on the ground. One was bleeding, one was charred, and one was slumped up against the wall. The Hunter stopped for a moment, seizing up at the sight.

"Are they okay?" asked Markus, kneeling before them.

"In short, no. They are badly wounded, but something is blocking my healing magic. I need you to help me find-"

"_NICO!"_

Markus glanced at Pheobe, who kept her sight on the Hunter as she rushed to the side of the kid slumped against the wall.

"Oh, gods, Nico! Please wake up!" she said, desperately shaking him. Tiredly, the poor kid woke up, and tried to make the Hunter stop shaking him.

"Please - stop - doing - that!" he managed, dizzy from the intense shaking. Immediately, the Hunter collapsed onto him, sobbing.

"Bianca, would you kindly tell us who the child is?" Pheobe asked carefully, eyeing the child with distaste.

"This is Nico," she managed. "He's my brother." Before she could continue, he brother interrupted her, tackling her to the ground in a bear hug.

"Bianca!" he cheered. "Oh, jeez, you'll _never_ guess what I've been going through! At first, I was still stuck in Los Angeles, then I met this really weird guy in a suit, except he _wasn't_ just a guy! He was a MANTICORE! Could you believe it!? It's _real_! Mythomagic is real! After that, I..." At this point, his voice died off a bit, party because of the stares he was getting, and mostly because Bianca was now laughing uncontrollably. "What?"

"Oh, I've missed having you around, Nico."

"Sorry to interrupt, but shouldn't we help out these kids, too?" asked Markus, pointing to the other two.

"Yes, we should. Son of Hermes, see if you can pick the lock to a supply building. Bianca, help me move these two to a fountain. And as for you, _boy,_" she said, pointing at Nico, "You shall accompany your sister."

* * *

A few hours passed, and Nico was listening as Bianca explained her situation - how she met the Hunters, made an oath to Artemis, and got sent on a quest to rescue said goddess.

"...and by now, they should be-"

**_"GRAAAAAAAAAGH!"_**

Markus gave a small shudder, before grinning slightly. "Well, I guess they've got that done."

"That they have," said Bianca. "So, where have _you_ been?" she asked Nico.

"Ah, right. So, the manticore was pretty angry, yelling 'The return of Kronos' this, and 'Death to demigods' that. I had no idea what was going on, so I ran away, but he was _way_ faster. I thought I was done for, but then, these two swoop in and save my behind! You should've seen them, Bi, they were like _'_Lightning!', and he was like 'THORNS!', and they were like 'Water!', and he was like-" Chuckling, Bianca shook her head.

"Oh. Sorry," he said, blushing. "Anyways, they saved me, and we started going _everywhere!_"

"Before you continue, what were their names?" asked Markus.

"Well, they said that their names were-"

"Artemis!" gasped Pheobe. Immediately, everyone stood and bowed, save for Nico.

"Annabeth, you're okay!" exclaimed Markus, rushing to her side and wrapping her in a tight hug.

"_Oof! _Yeah, I'm okay..." she said, laughing weakly.

"Hey, what about me?" Grover bleated.

"Aw, I knew they couldn't crack _your_ thick skull!" teased Markus, lightly punching Grover in the arm. Grover however, became stoic, staring not _at_ the fountain, but those who lay before it.

"Oh, my gods..." muttered Annabeth, slowly walking towards the bodies. Falling to her knees, she could only gape at what was before her.

"What's the problem?" Markus asked uncertainly, Nico nodding along.

"It's Thalia," she said weakly, "Daughter of Zeus."

* * *

**Because this is an alternate universe, I'll twist the prophecy up a bit to match the events.**

**_Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,_**

**_One shall be lost in the land without rain,_**

**_The Olympian Runner shall follow the trail,_**

**_But only with Hunters and Campers, prevail,_**

**_The Titan must fall back to his debt,_**

**_And afterwards, only, be three lives in threat._**


End file.
